Rumor - Grand Theft Auto: London for PS3 in Q4 2006

According
to an alleged employee of Rockstar North in Glasgow, Scotland, the next installment in the GTA series
"will be titled Grand Theft Auto: London and will take place in the Great City of London in
1997."

If true, this sounds suspiciously like Rockstar trying to claim the "Great City" back
from Sony's supposedusurpers to the crime-drivin' throne. Also, if you
recall, there was a PC expansion to the first GTA in
1999 called Grand Theft Auto: London 1969, so
this is either a bad rumor or a likely remake of old material.

We here at Joystiq hear a lot of crazyrumors about games, of
course, but we sometimes wonder what to make of anonymous tipsters who claim to work for certain "developers of
interest." Read on for the other details we received, and make the decision for yourself.

According to our source (who admittedly doesn't have the most perfect spelling), the "3 Island"
system will be replaced by a new "North, East, South, West" system, and the main character will be an
ex-gangster starting off in the "rough-and-tumble east end of London." Unlocked regions are to include the
North End, South End, and West End, in order. The game is supposed to be about 60% finished, with the graphics and
physics engines both completed. The focus is now mainly on the game's story component. The game is currently set to
launch with the Playstation 3 in North America and Europe in Q4 2006. With about a year's work already done, the
PlayStation 3's "fantastic graphical power" should provide some better horsepower under the hood of the
sandbox series.